A video about space, an excerpt from a K-pop concert, a reel of a person cleaning carpets… Ninon, 19, spends her precious hours revising on social networks – especially on YouTube and Instagram.
“The Insta algorithm knows me very well: I find all the videos cool.
» The young woman is a double law-English student at the University of Nancy.
At the beginning of December, she realized that she “couldn’t work”…
His day of revision has just slipped through his fingers.
And for good reason: “I spent almost eleven hours on my phone,” she says.
According to a Médiamétrie study in 2022, 83% of 15 to 24 year olds use social networks daily and they spend an average of two hours and 19 minutes there.
With dopamine, social media addiction
Ninon estimates that he spends “between three and four hours” on his smartphone per day.
" It's horrible.
It’s one of the things I spend the most time on… Even though it’s clearly not one of my priorities,” she notes.
“I should concentrate on my studies instead.
» The young woman tried to delete Instagram to work better… No luck.
She reinstalled the app after a day.
Perle, 20, also spends nearly four hours a day on her phone.
Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Reddit, YouTube: this third-year political science student in Lille recognizes that “it can quickly become addictive…”.
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Obviously, since social networks are designed to make us addicted.
Their use, just like the use of addictive substances, causes a release of dopamine, the pleasure hormone, in our brain.
This is why we want to go back.
To the point, sometimes, of doing it automatically.
Thus, according to a NordVPN study, 77% of young people aged 18 to 24 check their phone as soon as they wake up, while they are still in bed.
For 56% of them, it is to go on social networks.
Many tips to resist temptation
To combat this addiction, Perle has set time limits on its phone, depending on the applications.
Two hours maximum on Instagram, one hour on Twitter, one hour on TikTok… She receives an alert when she exceeds the allotted time.
“Okay, I don’t respect these limits… But it takes me out of my phone a little.
I say to myself, 'Ah!
It's already been two hours!'
»
“It’s scary, it’s almost sick”
Hugo, who deleted X from his phone
During revision periods, Perle has the impression that “it’s even worse”.
With the stress of exams, she “needs to check [her] phone”.
So to dissuade herself, the student now sets her screen to “black and white” mode.
Without all the colors, she feels “less caught up” in TikTok.
“It allows me to have my little moments of rest, without it overflowing.
»
Hugo, 24, carefully monitors his “screen time”.
“It’s scary, it’s almost sickly,” says this Master’s student in sociology in Caen.
“You just want to look at a notification and it ends up going around all the social networks.
» His addiction was was going back.
»
Also read ADHD, autism: when TikTok helps with diagnosis
Cut your push notifications, make the red stickers disappear, turn your phone to black and white, use “Do not disturb” mode, set time limits, delete applications from your home screen, delete your accounts or applications, etc. There are many methods to avoid falling into the dopamine trap.
There are even applications to dissuade users.
Some allow, for example, to take a break before opening a social network: it no longer opens directly, but after a breath of seven, ten or even twenty-five seconds.
The time needed to ask yourself if we are acting automatically or if we really need and want to go to the app.
A harmful effect on mental health
The most effective thing is still not to be tempted.
So Hugo gets organized.
“When I’m at the BU, my phone is turned off, in my bag, under my chair.
That way, even if I have the urge, it's far away, I have to turn it back on, put in the code... And then, I realize that it's going to be a waste of time.
This is what allows me to control the addiction.
»
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This is also the method of Céline, 27, recently a student again.
In retraining, she is preparing for the CRPE (School Teachers Recruitment Competition).
In addition to affecting his ability to concentrate, the infinite scroll “undermines his morale”.
Anxiety, self-esteem, loneliness… Numerous studies show that social networks can harm mental health.
According to an Amnesty International study published in November 2023, TikTok's "For You" feed could even push young people towards dangerous content and thus encourage self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
“I understood that it was of no use to me.
»
If she feels that she should “deactivate everything”, Céline finds it difficult to take the plunge.
“I'm afraid of missing something important…” This fear has a name: FOMO, “Fear of Missing Out”.
It is about the fear of missing something, an event in real life but also a virtual “event”: a story, a discussion, an announcement, news on a social network.
“In addition, it is via Messenger that I communicate – constantly – with my friends.
And for now, I don't consider it a waste of time.
»
“I remember confinement, it was terrible, we spent our time on the networks”
Lili, in master 2 at the Sorbonne
To not lose contact with her friends but not to waste time on her smartphone either, Lili has found the solution.
This 23-year-old Master 2 student in musicology at the Sorbonne has deleted the social networks that push her to scroll.
She only kept WhatsApp and Messenger.
She still goes on Instagram, but only on her computer.
“In undergrad, I spent three hours a day there, on my phone… Especially in lecture halls when I was bored,” she says.
“I understood that it was of no use to me.
Besides, I don't have time with my dissertation.
» Now, instead of being on Instagram on the subway, she reads or listens to music.
Also read Flash cards, mind maps… how to revise efficiently?
For Lili, “social networks are to compensate for the fact that your friends are far away or that you want to chat with them”.
“It’s obvious to me: I remember confinement, it was terrible, we spent our time on the networks,” she recalls.
“I never want to live a year like 2020 again,” says the student.
“So now, I really prioritize spending real time, with physical proximity, with my friends.
»And therefore, less on social networks.